In the wake of days of widespread public criticism over her proposal to increase the Belizean government’s $10,000 public procurement threshold, former Miss Universe Belize Isabella Zabaneh has issued a formal public statement distancing herself from any association with corruption, emphasizing that she does not support corrupt practices under any circumstances.
Released on Monday, the lengthy statement clarifies a key context for Zabaneh’s earlier remarks: her one-year tenure as Miss Universe Belize officially concluded on June 29, meaning her comments delivered at the People’s United Party (PUP) National Party Council meeting in Dangriga were not made in her capacity as a pageant titleholder. Instead, Zabaneh frames her intervention as an exercise in civic engagement by a private citizen, voter, and proud Belizean exercising her fundamental right to contribute to national public debate.
The former pageant winner also addressed the ongoing corruption investigation into the so-called “Mira Millions” scandal at Belize’s Ministry of Defence, stressing that her comments were never intended to defend any individuals connected to the inquiry. She acknowledged that her original remarks were open to misinterpretation by segments of the Belizean public, noting, “If my remarks gave anyone the impression that I was suggesting transparency should be weakened or accountability should be compromised, then I understand why that caused concern.”
Despite walking back the potential misreading of her initial intervention, Zabaneh has not fully retreated from her core position. She reaffirmed her call for a government review of public procurement thresholds, arguing that any adjustment should balance alignment with current economic conditions and the retention of robust, appropriate oversight mechanisms to prevent mismanagement and corruption.
Zabaneh’s clarification comes as her political allies have rallied to her defense: the United Women’s Group of the PUP has dismissed the widespread criticism against her as a “malicious backlash,” framing the public pushback as an unfair attack on a young woman’s constitutional right to participate in public discourse.